ai4bharat/Pralekha huggingface dataset:
Ministry of Commerce & Industry
Shri Piyush Goyal reviews the progress of Government e Marketplace
Emphasizes on the need to bring all public procurement online to promote economies of scale and social Inclusiveness
Suggests bringing in end-to-end online fulfillment and payment for all transactions by buyers on GeM
Asks GeM to improve monitoring of delivery against timelines.
Calls for strong legal and punitive actions against fraudulent activities on the portal
GeM plans significant technical upgrades to improve user experience
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles, Shri Piyush Goyal, reviewed the progress of Government e Marketplace .
Among many other things, various functionalities of GeM, as well as timeliness in procurement and delivery were reviewed in detail. It was noted that more than 95% of all the physical order deliveries since Apr’22 happened on time, in cases where online fulfillment and payment was done via GeM.
While consistent improvement was observed in the on-time delivery across all transaction types  via GeM, the Minister shared specific suggestions to revise thresholds and add features to further accelerate delivery timelines as well as provide more flexibility to government buyers to choose products as per their delivery needs.
Shri Goyal suggested bringing in end to end online fulfillment and payment for all transactions by buyers on GeM and to improve monitoring of delivery against timelines.
The Minister also emphasized on the need to bring all public procurement on the completely online and transparent portal viz GeM for achieving economies of scale and bringing about Social Inclusiveness by promoting Micro and Small Enterprises.
GeM’s initiatives for tight monitoring and anomaly detection in procurement, including use of AI-ML to detect and report potential collusion and fraud were reviewed. Shri Goyal suggested strong legal and punitive actions against buyers and suppliers against such activities.
In addition to detecting anomalies, GeM also plans to use AI-ML to make proactive feature simplifications and product suggestions to buyers to ensure informed decision making and savings in public spendings.
Significant technical upgrades have been planned by GeM to enable cutting edge use cases and improve user experience on the platform. Several other initiatives by GeM, including MSME inclusion and Har Ghar Tiranga campaign were appreciated by the Minister.
Ministry of Power
Power Ministry issues advisory for ensuring maintaining and reliability of electricity grid during strike called by National Convention of Workers
Ministry of Power issues advisory to States, CEA, All RPCs, CPSUs, NLDC, RLDCs to ensure maintaining and reliability of electricity grid during the strike called by National Convention of Workers from 28th to 30th March. The Ministry advised that all the power utilities shall take necessary measures to ensure round the clock normal functioning of the electricity Grid and availability of all plants, transmission lines and substations. Notwithstanding above, the followings measures shall also be taken for secure and reliable grid operations: Shutdown activities planned during 28th March 2022 to 29th March, 2022 may be rescheduled to suitable future dates to the extent possible.
All concerned may be advised to ensure close supervision of their regional network/control area and shall report to the concerned SLDC/ RLDC and NLDC in the event of any contingency.
Additional manpower may be deployed at all critical sub-stations/power station on 24X7 to handles any emergency conditions.
Healthiness of data and voice communication between the identified sub-stations/ power stations and their corresponding SLDC/RLDCs may be ensured.
Power supply to essential services such as hospitals, defence, railways etc. should be ensured.
All regional/state control room executives should be vigil and on high alert.
All defence mechanism such as df/dt, Under Frequency Relay based Load shedding , SPS etc. shall be in service. vii. A 24x7 Control Room may be made functional for information dissemination and for handling any kind of contingency.
Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways
Ministry of Shipping has facilitated more than 1 lakh crew change in Indian ports and charted flights;
India is the only country with highest crew change in the world;
Shri Mansukh Mandaviya lauds the efforts to facilitate stranded seafarers during the pandemic
Ministry of Shipping has facilitated more than 1,00,000 crew change on Indian ports and through charter flights. It is the highest number of crew changes in the world. Crew change consists of replacing one of the ship’s crew members with another one and involves sign-on the ships and sign-off the ships procedures.
Maritime sector is among the worst hit sectors due to Corona pandemic. Despite that, all the Indian Ports were operational and providing essential services throughout the pandemic and main pillar for the smooth supply chain for India and world were the seafarers. Seafarers had to suffer due to closing of Sign on & Sign-off and lockdowns and movement restrictions imposed by the various countries worldwide.
Union Minister of State  for Shipping, Shri Mansukh Mandaviya has appreciated the continued efforts done by the DG, Shipping during the briefing, especially for facilitating the stranded seafarer during this difficult time. Minister instructed DG Shipping to come up with robust grievances redress mechanism to facilitate the seafarers. He has strongly emphasized to ensure that seafarers should be able to approach the ministry during the difficult time and no seafarer should suffer due to poor grievance redress system.
To sustain the maritime transportation during the pandemic situation, DG Shipping has taken various initiatives like extensions of various certificates required for sailing, Online E-pass facility for travel etc. “An online utility has been created for verification of seafarers for charted flights and for uploading details of stranded seafarers along with online ship registrations and online charter licensing”, DG, Shipping Shri Amitabh Kumar added while briefing the Minister.
DG Shipping received communications via emails, tweets, and letters from more than 2000 Maritime Stakeholders and took immediate responsive action to facilitate their needs. E-learning for module courses and online virtual course have also been conducted by DG shipping and more than 35,000 students enrolled for e-learning. Online Exit Exam is being conducted for the seafarers after completing online courses and they can now appear in the exam from the comfort of their homes in this unprecedented time of COVID-19 pandemic.
Ministry of Defence
MARITIME PARTNERSHIP EXERCISE BETWEEN INDIAN NAVY AND JAPAN MARITIME SELF DEFENSE FORCE IN THE ANDAMAN SEA
A Maritime Partnership Exercise  was conducted between Japan Maritime Self Defense Force and Indian Navy on 23 Jul 22 in Andaman Sea. INS Sukanya, an offshore patrol vessel and JS Samidare, a Murasame class destroyer, undertook various exercises including seamanship activities, aircraft operations and tactical manoeuvres as part of the operational interaction. The two countries have been carrying out regular exercises in IOR towards reinforcing maritime association. The exercise were aimed at enhancing interoperability and streamlining seamanship and communication procedures. This exercise is part of the ongoing efforts between the two navies towards ensuring safe and secure international shipping and trade in Indian Ocean Region.
VM/PS 73/22
(Visitor Counter : 3824
Ministry of Finance
More than 71 lakh subscribers enrolled under Atal Pension Yojana upto 24.01.2022
As per information received from Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority , 71,06,743 subscribers have been enrolled under Atal Pension Yojana  up to 24.01.2022, during the financial year 2021-22. This was stated by Union Minister of State for Finance Dr Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha.
Giving more details, the Minister stated the number of subscribers enrolled under APY during last five years, given as under:
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2016-17
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2017-18
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2018-19
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2019-20
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2020-21
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23,98,934
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48,21,632
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57,12,824
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68,83,373
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79,14,142
The Minister further stated that the Atal Pension Yojana  is a Government of India Scheme launched on 9th May, 2015, with the objective of creating a universal social security system for all Indians, especially the poor, the under-privileged and the workers in the unorganised sector. The Scheme became operational w.e.f. 1st June, 2015, and is being administered by the PFRDA. It is open to all citizens of India between 18-40 years of age having a savings bank account in a bank or post-office.
There are five pension plan slabs available under the scheme namely, Rs 1000, Rs 2000, Rs 3000, Rs 4000, and Rs 5000 guaranteed by Government of India to the subscriber at the age of 60 years. On death of subscriber, same pension to spouse is guaranteed by Government of India, the Minister stated.
Ministry of Heavy Industries
Transfer of BHEL-EML, kasargod plant to Kerala Government
Government of Kerala has agreed to take over BHEL’s 51% stake in BHEL-EML. Thereafter, as per the laid down procedure in General Financial Rules and the extant guidelines, transfer of assets is being processed.
Union Cabinet, had on 30.11.2016, accorded ‘in principle’ approval for the transfer of Palakkad Unit of Instrumentation Limited to the Government of Kerala. A tripartite memorandum of understanding has been signed by Government of India, Government of Kerala and Instrumentation Limited defining the modalities of transfer of Palakkad Unit to the Government of Kerala.
This information was given by the Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises, Prakash Javadekar, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha today.
Ministry of Finance
Exchange Rate Notification No. 68/2023 -Customs 
In exercise of the powers conferred by section 14 of the Customs Act, 1962 , and in supersession of the Notification No. 64/2023-Customs, dated 6th September, 2023 except as respects things done or omitted to be done before such supersession, the Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs hereby determines that the rate of exchange of conversion of each of the foreign currencies specified in column  of each of Schedule I and Schedule II annexed hereto, into Indian currency or vice versa, shall, with effect from 22nd September, 2023, be the rate mentioned against it in the corresponding entry in column  thereof, for the purpose of the said section, relating to imported and export goods.
SCHEDULE-I
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Sl.
No.
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Foreign Currency
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Rate of exchange of one unit of foreign currency equivalent to Indian rupees
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-
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1.
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Australian Dollar
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54.55
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52.20
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2.
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Bahraini Dinar
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228.00
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214.00
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3.
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Canadian Dollar
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62.70
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60.65
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4.
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Chinese Yuan
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11.55
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11.25
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5.
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Danish Kroner
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12.05
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11.65
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6.
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EURO
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90.05
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86.90
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7.
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Hong Kong Dollar
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10.80
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10.45
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8.
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Kuwaiti Dinar
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277.65
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261.10
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9.
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New Zealand Dollar
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50.50
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48.20
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10.
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Norwegian Kroner
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7.80
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7.55
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11.
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Pound Sterling
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104.20
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100.80
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12.
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Qatari Riyal
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23.55
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22.10
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13.
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Saudi Arabian Riyal
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22.85
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21.50
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14.
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Singapore Dollar
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61.80
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59.85
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15.
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South African Rand
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4.55
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4.25
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16.
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Swedish Kroner
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7.55
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7.30
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17.
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Swiss Franc
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94.20
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90.65
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18.
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Turkish Lira
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3.15
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3.00
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19.
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UAE Dirham
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23.35
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21.95
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20.
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US Dollar
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84.05
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82.30
SCHEDULE-II
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Sl.
No.
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Foreign Currency
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Rate of exchange of 100 units of foreign currency equivalent to Indian rupees
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-
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1.
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Japanese Yen
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56.95
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55.20
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2.
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Korean Won
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6.40
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6.00
Ministry of Defence
Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt visits BRO Headquarters, New Delhi e-inaugurates a BRO Cafe at Manali
Raksha Rajya Mantri Shri Ajay Bhatt visited the Headquarters of Directorate General Border Roads in New Delhi on 26 September, 2023. He released a slew of books and compendium- ‘Nations’s BRO: Looking Ahead’, a Compendium of BRO works in Uttarakhand, SpeciaL Day Cover on Establishment of World Records By BRO, Veer Gatha –A Book on Unsung Heroes of BRO, and Medical Handbook of High Altitude Related Problems’. RRM also e-inaugurated a BRO Cafe at Manali.
Speaking on the occasion Raksha Rajya Mantri said there has been a significant increase in the completion of strategic roads and highways, which is a testament to the tireless efforts of BRO personnel. These roads not only facilitate smooth movement of our armed forces but also promote trade, tourism and connectivity for the local residents. “The development of infrastructure in remote hilly areas has also resulted in an increase in the number of tourists visiting these beautiful places, which were previously inaccessible. A need was felt to set up multi-utility cafes providing amenities and basic medical facilities along the major tourist circuits in these areas to provide friendly and safe transportation for tourists on these roads. BRO has played a leading role in this aspect by building BRO cafe in Manali”, he said
Commending BRO for expanding its scope and activities, RRM said that BRO is not only constructing roads and bridges but also working on airfields, tunnels, helipads, 3-D printed buildings, carbon neutral residences etc. “Embracing new ideas has always been the hallmark of progress, and BRO's adoption of cutting-edge technologies reflects its foresight’, he said.
Raksha Rajya Mantri congratulated BRO for the construction of the world's highest motorable road at Umling La Pass and commencement of work on Likru - Migla - Fukche in Ladakh on the auspicious occasion of 77th Independence Day. He also appreciated the role played by BRO under leadership of Lieutenant General Rajiv Choudhary, in strengthening border infrastructure and ensuring ease of life to the people living in the remote and far flung areas of the country.
Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports
Sports Minister lauds CBSE for organizing Fitness Week in schools, plans to take it to all states
In a revolutionary step aimed to inculcate the habit of fitness among school children, the Central Board of Secondary Education  will be observing Fitness Week in the second and third Week of November, as part of the Fit India Movement. The objective of the Fitness Week is to bring about a behavorial change in school children from spending “Passive Screen Time” to “Active Field Time” – from moving them away from computer screens to open fields. This first-of-its-kind endeavour will see participation of 22000 CBSE schools from all over the country.
Lauding the initiative, Shri Kiren Rijiju, Union Minister of Youth Affairs and Sports , said, “I am very happy to know that CBSE has decided to celebrate Fitness Week in all its affiliated schools. The Fit India Movement, envisioned by Honourable PM, is the need of the hour and we must make every effort to inculcate fitness habits in Indians from an early age. The Sports Ministry is in talks with education departments of all state governments and we will soon finalise the plan to observe Fitness Week in schools across the country in the last week of November.”
The extensive 6-day programme during the Fitness Week addresses both physical and mental fitness needs of children and goes beyond the usual form of physical exercises like yoga, free-hand and includes interesting forms of fitness like dance, aerobics and gardening, among others. Indigenous games from every state, such as Cowrie from Gujarat, Silamba from Tamil Nadu, Bante from Jammu and Kashmir, GulliDanda from Punjab, Pambaram from Kerala, will also be included in the fitness regime of children. Lectures by sports psychologists have been included to give children an insight into the importance of sports in character building and off-field stress management. Parents and teachers will compete with each other and with students in playing the indigenous games and also participate in the fitness activities undertaken in each school during the week.
CBSE has also decided to assess the fitness levels of students from the age of 5 years to 16 years using the Khelo India Mobile App that has been developed by the Sports Authority of India. The App has inbuilt fitness tests for various age groups that helps to ascertain aspects such as flexibility, core strength and agility of students, the scores of which can then be used to identify students who have the prospect of taking up sport at the professional level.
Ministry of Health and Family Welfare
COVID-19 UPDATE
59.55 Cr. vaccine doses have been administered so far under Nationwide Vaccination Drive
37,593 new cases in the last 24 hours
Active cases account for less than 1% of total cases, currently at 0.99%
India's Active caseload stands at 3,22,327
Recovery Rate currently at 97.67%
34,169 recoveries in the last 24 hours increases Total Recoveries to 3,17,54,281
Weekly Positivity Rate  less than 3% for last 61 days
Daily positivity rate  less than 3% for last 30 days
51.11 cr Total Tests conducted so far
Cabinet
Cabinet approves implementation of CCEA decision on closure of Tungabhadra Steel Products Limited
The Union Cabinet chaired by Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi has approved the implementation of the CCEA decision on closure of Tungabhadra Steel Products Limited  regarding disposal of its immovable assets. It also provides for getting the name of the company struck off from the Registrar of Companies after setting balance liabilities of TSPL.
It may be recalled that CCEA had approved the closure of the company in December, 2015 after discharging all dues to employees/workers and creditors. Cabinet approved transfer of MMH Plants to Government of Karnataka along with 20,000 square meter land. Cabinet also approved selling 82.37 acres of land of the Company at Hospet to Karnataka Government for use of the Karnataka State Housing Board. The land is being sold to Karnataka Government at the rate of Rs. 66 lakh per acre offered by them.
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy
Electricity from solid waste
The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy is implementing Waste to Energy  Programme under the umbrella of National Bioenergy Programme. The WTE Programme has a budget outlay of Rs 600 crore for the period FY 2021-22 to FY 2025-26. This Programme aims to support setting up of Waste to Energy plants for generation of Biogas, BioCNG and electricity from urban, industrial and agricultural waste by providing central financial assistance  . Such projects are set up in various States/UTs by project developers and interested developers seek CFA under the Programme.
Further, Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas, under the Sustainable Alternative Towards Affordable Transportation  initiative envisages setting up of 5000 BioCNG plants by 2023-24 with production target of 15 MMT of BioCNG from urban, industrial and agricultural waste including municipal solid waste.
SATAT initiative encourages entrepreneurs to set up BioCNG plants, produce & supply BioCNG to Oil Marketing Companies  for sale as automotive fuels. As on 31st Oct, 2022, total 3694 LoIs have been issued by OMCs for BioCNG capacity addition of 23868 Tons per day.
This information was given by Shri R.K Singh Union Minister of Power and MNRE in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.
Ministry of Defence
Minister of Defence of Japan Visits Air Force Station Hindan
Hon’ble Defence Minister of Japan, Mr Kono Taro, visited Indian Air Force Base at Hindan today. He is on a two day bilateral visit to India. The Japanese Defence Minister and accompanying delegation were received by Air Marshal D Choudhury AVSM VM VSM, Senior Air Staff Officer of Western Air Command and Air Commodore R Talwar, Air Officer Commanding, Air Force Station Hindan. During his visit the Minister was given an overview about the Indian Air Force organisational structure and operational capability of the IAF. He was also given a brief about the station, its operational role & assets available at base.
Ministry of Social Justice & Empowerment
02 Days National Symposium on “Transforming Human Resource Development in the context of NEP-2020”
The Rehabilitation Council of India  has been set up under the Rehabilitation Council of India Act, 1992 enacted by the parliament with mandate to standardize, regulate and monitor the training programmes in the field of special education and disability rehabilitation. The main functions of the Council are to prescribe minimum standards of education & training for 16 categories of professionals / personnel allocated to RCI, maintenance of Central Rehabilitation Register  and promote research in disability sector.
After the implementation of Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act , 2016 by the Govt. of India and the provisions envisaged in the NEP-2020, it becomes essential for the Council to prepare a roadmap for transforming Human Resource Development in the field of Special Education & Disability Rehabilitation.
Keeping in view of the above, the Council is organizing National Symposium on “Transforming Human Resource Development in the context of NEP-2020” scheduled on 28-29 December, 2021 at Convention Centre, North Eastern Development Finance Corporation Ltd. , Guwahati, Assam.
Kumari Pratima Bhaumik, Hon’ble Minister of State for Social Justice & Empowerment, Government of India will be the Chief Guest for the above said National Symposium.
Shri Jishnu Barua IAS, Chief Secretary, Govt. of Assam will be the Special Guest & Mrs. Anjali Bhawra, Secretary, DEPwD & Chairperson, RCI, Dr. Prabodh Seth, Joint Secretary, DEPwD, Dr. Subodh Kumar, Member Secretary, RCI will be the Guest of Honour. It is expected that 120 participants from all over the Country including Vice Chancellor of State Open, Central Universities, State Commissioners for PWds, Chief Coordinators, Zonal Coordination Committees, RCI and other eminent experts will also participate in the National Symposium.
During the National Symposium, the experts from the field of special education, inclusive education, speech & hearing, Clinical & Rehabilitation Psychology, Rehabilitation worker will deliberate on 06 identified themes and will make necessary recommendations for aligning RCI activities and programmes to Transform the Human Resource in the field of special education and disability rehabilitation in consonance of various provisions as envisaged in the RPwD Act,2016 and NEP,2020.
Ministry of Information & Broadcasting
PIB Mumbai Photographer Shridhar Patil passes away
Mumbai, June 1, 2020
Shridhar Patil, Photographer of the Government of India’s Press Information Bureau  in Mumbai, passed away this morning. He was 55. Shridhar Patil was suffering from cancer since the last two years and was being treated at the Tata Memorial Centre Hospital, Mumbai. Last fortnight he was diagnosed to be Covid 19 positive. He is survived by his wife and two daughters.
PIB Mumbai in its condolence meeting today mourned the sad demise of one of its most sincere employees, describing him as hardworking, honest and extremely humble. “He was a an important member of our Photo and Publicity Unit and was always ready to execute whatever work assigned to him. Believe me, his contributions to this office will not be forgotten” said Manish Desai, DG  in the condolence message to the family of the deceased colleague. Late Shridhar Patil was a regular at all the functions and events featuring Union Ministers and other senior leaders in Mumbai, capturing photographs to accompany PIB press releases.
Principal Director General, PIB Shri Kuldeep Singh Dhatwalia also sent his condolences from New Delhi. Fellow photo-journalists of Mumbai-based newspapers and other acquaintances from media have also condoled the death of Shridhar Patil.